âWe did two takes of the song, and itâs performed in front of a pretty big crowd,â Demme remembered. âAnd by that point, Meryl wasnât even looking at the strings, she was just playing.
âOzymandiasâ is at first glance a sonnet about the transitory nature of life and its pretensions of fame and fortune. The decaying, ancient statue bears witness to the fact that the pursuit of power and glory for their own sakes are not only fleeting, but they are also illusory, unworthy ambitions even within the lifetime of their seekers.
Shelley wrote the poem in friendly competition with his friend and fellow poet Horace Smith (1779â1849), who also wrote a sonnet on the same topic with the very same title. Smith's poem was first published in The Examiner a few weeks after Shelley's sonnet.urther reading [edit]. 1  Rodenbeck, John. 2  Johnstone Parr. 3  Waith, Eugene M. Ozymandias: Shelley, Horace Smith, and Denon.. 4  Richmond, H. M. Ozymandias and the Travelers.. 5  Bequette, M. K. Shelley and Smith: Two Sonnets on Ozymandias.. 6  Freedman, William. 7  Edgecombe, R. S. Displaced Christian Images in Shelley's 'Ozymandias'.. 8  Sng, Zachary.